Automobile actuated gravity return gate



A ril 24, 1956 H. P. SCHAEFER 2,742,722

AUTOMOBILE ACTUATED GRAVITY RETURN GATE Filed Jan. 4, 1955 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 max g Harry Schaefer INVENTOR.

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April 24, 1956 H. 'P. SCHAEFER AUTOMOBILE ACTUATED GRAVITY RETURN GATE 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Jan. 4, 1955 Harry I? .Schaefer INVEN TOR.

and W 8M AUTOMOBILE ACTUATED; GRAVITY: RETURN GATE Harry P. Schaefer, Cisco, Tex., assigno r of fifty percent to JesseH. Reynolds, Cis'co, Tex.

Application January 4, 1955, SerialNo. 479,787

1 Claim. (Cl. 39-31) This invention relates to a farm gate of the type automatically operable by a vehicle striking the gate and which is adapted to return automatically to a closed and latched position afterthe vehicle has passed.

The construction of this invention features novel means for utilizing the force of gravity to return the gate to a latched position after it has been opened.

An important object of the invention lies in the provision of latch means operable by a resiliently mounted bumper on the gate, the bumper having a cam surface thereon for engagement with the latch to pivot the latch thus removing the latch from its keeper.

Still further objects and features of this invention reside in the provision of an automatically actuated gate capable of being actuated by contact with any suitable vehicle or the like which is simple in construction, highly efficient in operation, which has a minimum of moving parts, and which is substantially foolproof in operation.

These, together with thevarious ancillary objects and features of the invention which will become apparent as the following description proceeds, are attained by this gate, a preferred embodiment of which has been illustrated in the accompanying drawings, by way of example only, wherein:

Figure l is a perspective view of a gate constructed in accordance with the concepts of the present invention;

Figure 2 isan enlarged elevational view of the hinge end of the gate;

Figure 3 is an enlarged horizontal sectional view as taken on the plane of line 3-3 of Figure 2 showing on an enlarged scale the latch end of the gate;

2- a hinge Velement16includcs aback plate 36 which is adapted, to be secured by suitable. fasteners -38 .to the fence post; .Thehinge element 16 ]further includes. a bottornplate 40 havingan aperture 42' therethrough through which, the vertical frame member26 extends and includes spaeed side, Walls 4lsand46 interconnected-by anarcuate wall 48 which has raised side portionssll and 52 and adepressed center. portion 54. The wall ,48 thus forms a cam surface 56 for engagement by a rollerf58 forming a part; of the horizontal,framemernber22. Itis toberec ognized that the. hinge element. 18. hasa cam surface 60 Figure 4 is a sectional detail view as taken along the plane of line 44 in Figure 3;

Figure 5 is a transverse sectional view of the bumper illustrating the construction of the cam means;

Figure 6 is'an elevational view of the latch keeper;

Figure 7 is an elevational view of one of the hinge elements;

Figure 8 is a plan view of one of the hinge elements; and Figure 9 is a'vertical sectional view as taken along the plane of line 99 in Figure 7.

With continuing reference to the accompanying drawings wherein like reference numerals designate similar parts throughout the various views, the'gate construction comprising the present invention is generally designated at 10. This gate construction 10 includes gateposts 12 and 14 with the gatepost 12 being provided with hinge elements 16 and 18 thereon.

Rigidly mounted in the hinge elements 16 and 18 is gate 20 which includes horizontal frame members 22 and 24 which are welded or otherwise secured to vertical frame members 26 and 28 to form a peripheral frame for the gate 20. Intermediate frame members or supports 30 and 32 are provided and suitable wire mesh or the like 34 may be secured to the frame and extend between various points thereof. The hinge elements 16 and 18 are substantially identical and it will be noted that the adapted to be, engaged by. a roller.62t forming a portion of thelower horizontal frame member 24!.

In operation, when the gate 20 is pivoted the rollers 58 and 62 will ride on the 'cam surfaces 56 and 60 from the depressed position to a raised position and thus will cause the gate'to swing back to initial position when released due to the action of gravity.

The. gatepost 12 carries a latch keeper 66 having a substantially inverted W-shaped latch 68, the latch keeper being secured by suitable fasteners 70 to the gatepost 14. As can be seen best in Figure 6, the latch keeper 68 includes angularly converging portions 72 and 74 having a socket 76 formed therebetween for reception of the latch 78 which extends through a slot 80 in the vertical frame member, 28 and is pivoted thereto by means of a pin 82. The latch 78 is continuously urged into a normal position in engagement in the socket 76 of the latch keeper 66 by means of a spring 84 terminally connected to the latch and to the vertical frame member 28. The latch is overlaid by the recess portion 86 of a bar 88 interconnecting and extending between bumper bars 90 and 92 which are resiliently'mounted on the gate by means of rods 94 and 96 terminally secured to the bumperbars 90 and 92 and extendnig through suitable; apertures in the intermediate frame members 30 and 32. Concentrically disposed about the rod 94 are coil springs 98 and 100 which yieldingly engage the bumper bars 90 and 92 respectively and the frame member 30. Similar springs 102 and 104 arepositioned concentrically about the rod 96. The springs 98, 100, 102

and 104 serve to absorb some of the shock provided when the bumper of a vehicle engages the bumper bar and thus causes displacement of the bar 88 and the downward camming action of the latch 78 thus raising the latch 78 from the latch keeper 66. This will permit the forward movement of the vehicle to completely open the gate 20. A wheel 106 is rotatably mounted on the frame member 32 in 'any convenient manner and may be in the form of a small bicycle wheel orthe like for engaging the fenders or other portions of a vehicle should the gate swing shut too rapidly thus permitting damage to the vehicle. In order to enable the gate to 'be actuated by a vehicle with different height bumpers,

bumper extensions 108 and 110 may be secured to the bumper bars 90 and 92.

From the foregoing, the construction and operation of the device will be readily understood and further explanation is believed to be unnecessary. However, since numerous modifications and changes will readilyoccur to those skilled in the art, it is not desired to limit the invention to the exact construction shown and described, and accordingly all suitable modifications and equivalents may be resorted to, falling within the scope of the appended claim.

What is claimed as new is as follows:

.A gate construction comprising a pair of spaced gate posts, a swinging gate including a frame having frame members, hinge means secured to a'first of said pair of gate posts, said hinge means having cam surfaces thereon engaged by said frame, a latch keeper carried by the second of said pairs of gate posts, a latch pivotally at- Patented: Apr-.24; 19.5%

tached to said frame about a horizontal axis and engageable with said keeper, bumper means resiliently mounted on said gate, said bumper menas including a pair of horizontal bumper bars positioned on the opposite sides of said frame for movement towards and away from said frame, rods terminally secured to said bumper bars and extending slidably through said frame members, said rods having pairs of springs disposed thereabout on opposite sides of said frame engaging said bumper bars and said frame members, a cam bar extending between said bumper bars and moving with said bumper means engaging said latch for pivoting said latch whereby movement of said cam bar will raise said latch, said latch and said frame having spring means terminally secured thereto for urging said latch into said keeper, said frame having a slot therein, said latch extending through said slot, said cam surfaces including depressed central portions and arcuate- 1y raised portions on each side of said depressed central portions.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 508,573 Jester et a1. Nov. 14, 1893 978,245 Warden Dec. 13, 1910 2,118,722 Bock May 24, 1938 2,567,306 Wheeler Sept. 11, 1951 2,585,481 Martin Feb. 12, 1952 2,594,033 Kemp Apr. 22, 1952 2,693,653 Dean, Ir. Nov. 9, 1954 FOREIGN PATENTS 13,609/28 Australia Apr. 9, 1929 23,920/35 Australia Aug. 27, 1936 

